The Academy Team

Ian Underwood is Professor of Electronic Displays in the School of Engineering where he is Deputy Director of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Intelligent Sensing and Measurement, reflecting his current research focus on miniature sensor systems in a range of applications including biomedical and healthcare. 

He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of the SID and sits on the technical program committee of the International Solid State Circuits Conference, the International Displays Research Conference and the Society for Information Display's Annual International Symposium.

Susan Shenkin is Professor of Healthcare for Older People, Ageing and Health, within the Usher Institute and NHS Lothian Consultant, in Geriatric Medicine.

She is NRS Ageing Specialty Lead and co-chair of ENRICH (Enabling Research in Care Homes), and her research focusses on the causes and impacts of ageing, particularly for people with dementia or delirium, and those who live in care homes.

She is an academic lead for New Models of Care and Deputy Director of the ACRC Academy.

Chris Elsden is Lecturer in Design Futures, at the Institute for Design Informatics, based in the Edinburgh College of Art. His research combines sociology, with participatory, design-led and futures methods, to help diverse individuals, communities and organisations explore complex emerging technologies. 

Chris was a Chancellor’s Fellow in Service Design from 2021 - 2026. He has co-directed the EFI MSc in Service Management and Design since 2024, teaching interdisciplinary courses in service design, co-creation and participatory methods. He was also a Co-I and Edinburgh Lead on the £3.8m EPSRC Next Stage Centre for the Decentralised Digital Economy (DECaDE) and is a leading member of the EFI Compassion in Finance Hub.

Jenn is the Academy Project Manager for the ACRC. Prior to this, she was the Senior Manager of Program Evaluation and Impact at Illinois Humanities in the United States, where she worked to bring free public humanities programmes and grants across the state of Illinois.

She has experience working in NGOs and university settings, primarily focused on project management, evaluation, and education.

Gregor joined the Academy in 2025, his third role in the Advanced Care Research Centre.

Having previously worked in Engineering and IT roles, he has been at the University since 2014, providing professional services support in all three Colleges.

Gregor started working in Admissions at CAHSS, before moving to the School of Informatics, supporting first undergraduate, then postgraduate students. In 2021 he moved to the ACRC to work in the AIM-CISC research programme, and in 2025 he took on the role of ACRC Administrator.